Next Tasty Place

A New Cluster Of Fine Restaurants In A City Renowned For Great Food

New York City

NEW YORK — A lot of cities claim to be the foodie mecca of the world. But, seriously, is there any restaurant city more diverse, more pleasurable than New York?

Even within this tightly concentrated capital of global cuisine, there are neighborhoods and stretches of streets that claim to be New York's premiere Restaurant Row -- the culinary center of the culinary center of the restaurant world. There's 46th Street between Eighth and Ninth avenues (which is officially named Restaurant Row). There's the Lower East Side's enclave of hip dining on Clinton Street. There's the phalanx of eateries that ring Union Square. And there's the bursting-at-the-seams glut of upscale options in the Meatpacking District.

Recently, however, a new section has laid claim to being the city's top dining area: a slightly grimy swath of 10th Avenue in West Chelsea. This section of 10th, from about 14th Street to 23rd Street, was relatively unremarkable several years ago, save for gallery strolling. But as the Meatpacking District (Ninth Avenue to the Hudson River between 15th Street to Gansevoort Street) exploded, a logical overflow became 10th Avenue. Think of a big steak overcrowding a plate, pushing the potatoes and asparagus west and north.

Lucky for those potatoes and asparagus. Restaurants along this stretch of 10th Avenue are now enjoying the inevitable spillover from the trendy clubs and restaurants that have made a happy home in the once-seedy Meatpacking District. Tenth Avenue knew it had arrived when Food Network chef Mario Batali announced he was moving into the area with a lavish new restaurant, Del Posto. ``Iron Chef'' Masaharu Morimoto and Tom Colicchio (known for his work at Gramercy Tavern and Craft) have followed. It's an impressive lineup of restaurants anchoring the growing clout of 10th.

But it takes more than restaurants to make a neighborhood work. The backbone of West Chelsea has always been its thriving gallery scene. There are about 200 galleries in West Chelsea, whose presence has made it safe for developers to build thousands of housing units for the fabulously well-heeled. Hotelier Andre Balazs is building a high-end boutique hotel and private club on the southeast corner of West 14th Street and 10th Avenue, as well as a 330-room hotel (a New York outpost of his Standard brand hotel) at block away on Washington Street.

The boutique hotel Balazs will have direct access to the High Line, a derelict elevated railroad running west of 10th Avenue that is destined to be the area's biggest draw. Running from Gansevoort Street north to 34th Street, the 1.5-mile-long, city-owned elevated railroad bed is being developed into a 22-block park. This past spring, ground was broken for construction of the first section of the park from Gansevoort Street to West 20th Street, set to open in spring 2008.

The High Line project had developers snatching up every square inch of space along the proposed park. It's one of the city's most exciting parts of town. But tourists tend to judge an area by its bars-and-restaurant nightlife. Chelsea's 10th Avenue is no slouch. Here are just some of the places open for your culinary meanderings way out west.

1.) Trestle on Tenth, 242 10th Ave., 212-645-5659: In his review last month of this new Contemporary American restaurant, New York Times restaurant critic Frank Bruni made mention of the area's emergence as a new restaurant row. Trestle on Tenth is helping make the case. Swiss-born and trained chef Ralf Keuttel's menu is perfect for winter: pork, saddle of lamb, oxtail, roasted chicken, potato pancakes and ``pizokle,'' small, gnocchi-like dumplings thickened with Gruyere cheese. European comfort food, for sure. The wine list is vast, and the restaurant's exposed brick and wood plank floors beckon the artiste element of the area.

2.) The Red Cat, 227 10th Ave., 212-242-1122: Opened long before the area became hip, the Red Cat set the culinary bar for this neighborhood. A restaurant serious about food and wine, it quickly became the area's canteen for the growing gallery scene. The restaurant's popularity spawned the Harrison and Mermaid Inn in other parts of town, but the Cat continues to purr with its own effortless charm. Grilled fish, roasted chicken, duck breast and chops marry well with an intelligent wine list. A welcoming neighborhood vibe makes this a great place for those visiting art galleries.